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From The Ongoing Transformation by Issues in Science and Technology
May 19, 2026 · 22 min
About this episode
This episode discusses the history of spam and its implications for regulating technologies like artificial intelligence.
Spam represents nearly half of all global email traffic, from obnoxious ads to dire warnings of impending account closures to absurd invitations to join the Illuminati (just ask our podcast producer). It is a constant, annoying part of online life, but does it have to be that way?. Understanding the efforts to address spam in the early 2000s offers lessons for how we might regulate technologies such as artificial intelligence today. On this episode, host Jason Lloyd is joined by Rebecca Coyne , who recently received her master’s degree in public policy from the University of Michigan. Coyne wrote about spam policy in the Spring 2026 issue, in an article titled “ Spam Policy and the Myth of the Ungovernable Internet .” Resources: Read “ Spam Policy and the Myth of the Ungovernable Internet ” by Rebecca Coyne, from our Spring 2026 issue. Learn more about the early internet by reading “ A Prehistory of Social Media ” by Kevin Driscoll, and listen to his podcast episode . Check out Spam: A Shadow History of the Internet by Finn Burton for more on the history of spam, and read this article to learn about the vigilante hijinks during the “spam wars.” For more on AI regulation, read “…
People in this episode
Host: Jason Lloyd
Guest: Rebecca Coyne
Topics covered
- spam
- email traffic
- AI regulation
- internet history
- public policy
Keywords
- spam
- AI regulation
- public policy
- internet history
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: University of Michigan, Center for American Progress
Books & works: Spam Policy and the Myth of the Ungovernable Internet, A Prehistory of Social Media, Spam: A Shadow History of the Internet, The Mirage of AI Deregulation
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